Stupid Cupid
by Amulet Misty
Summary: Ash was not a romantic - but he was bound to notice something if it danced around in front of him everyday. /03 - Don't Shoot the Messenger: "Er...she said," Ash was going to regret this, "to mind your own business and to stop putting your nose where it doesn't belong."/ -Wishfulshipping, with Ash and other characters.
1. Horoscopes

**A/N: Tadaa! I don't know where I got the idea to do this from. I thought it'd be fun to write Wishfulshipping from Ash's perspective. I've written this as BW Ash of course, Kanto Ash is not as dense in romance (I accept that the writers brainwash Ash to filter things out from his memory every season). Enjoy~**

* * *

**Stupid Cupid**

Horoscopes

Ash was not a romantic. He was slow on the uptake and took an awfully long time to understand anything to do with romance if he ever did understand. He just really wasn't into that kind of thing, he was more interested in pokémon and gym battles and pokémon battling and eating and - did he mention pokémon?

He sincerely enjoyed the company of both is travelling companions in the way only Ash could be. Sure, sometimes he argued with Iris and sure, sometimes Cilan was a bit weird. All of his friends were like that though and it made his journey all the more fun.

So what exactly did his friends and romance have to do with each other? In reality: a whole lot. In Ash's mind: the thought of romance between both his friends would never cross his mind.

xxxxx

Bored. That was how Ash felt at that moment, sitting on his bed in their room at the Pokemon Centre. It was pouring with rain outside and another group of people were already using the centre's indoor training grounds. Meaning Ash couldn't train his pokémon. Meaning Ash's usually good mood had been taken down a level or two.

The only good thing to look forward to was Cilan's cooked dinner; he had been granted special permission to use the centre's kitchen by Nurse Joy.

Meanwhile, Iris was reading a magazine. Ash never liked reading and he didn't take Iris to be a fan either but she looked pretty absorbed by it. He stroked Pikachu behind the ears absent-mindedly. _Man, I'm hungry…_

"Hey Ash," Iris said, without lifting her eyes from the pages. "What's Cilan's horoscope?"

"His what?" He looked at Pikachu who was sitting beside him. His partner looked as confused as he did.

"A horoscope! You know, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces - stuff like that." Iris looked up, and then rolled her eyes at the blank expression he gave her. "You don't know them? You're such a kid."

"Why don't you ask him yourself, then?" Ash retorted. He should be used to being called a kid but it still ticked him off. "Why do you need to know anyway?"

She immediately put down her magazine and looked away. "No reason."

Even Ash could tell that it must have to do with the magazine. His natural curiosity getting the better of him, he dived from his bed to hers and tried to make a grab for it but Iris saw him coming.

She jumped off the bed and held it up in the air while running away from Ash who was still chasing after her. After a few rounds around the room Ash had nearly caught up with her (_she's jumping like she's a Pansage or something!)_when the door open and their older friend looked in at them.

"It's Dinner Time," he sang. He opened his eyes and blinked when he saw them, frozen in mid-chase. "Um, what are you two doing?"

Taking advantage Iris's momentary pause, Ash snatched the magazine away and quickly read the cover. One of the subheadings showed him exactly what he wanted. Waving it up in the air he shouted, "_Compatibility test - What's his Horoscope?_Iris wants to know your horoscope for a compatibility test!" His moment of victory then died down a little. "What's a compatibility test?"

A small 'eep' emitted from Iris and she pushed past Cilan, her face completely red. "I'm going ahead to dinner," echoed through the door.

The young trainer tilted his head in confusion. "What's gotten into her?" He thought.

He was about to ask Cilan when he realised that the connoisseur stood as still as a statue by the doorframe, his mouth slight open with a stunned look on his face.

He exchanged a look with Pikachu, who again did not know any better than his trainer. "Pika pi?"

"No clue." He tried to gain the attention of his older friend. "Hey Cilan - snap out of it!"

This jolted Cilan out of his state and he quickly gave Ash a smile. "Sorry about that. Let's go to dinner."

He rushed out of the room, leaving Ash to have to run to catch up with him.

Iris and Axew had already begun eating when the two arrived and she didn't give any sign that she noticed them when they sat down.

Glancing side-ways at Iris he could tell she was really concentrated on eating her food, at an even quicker rate than usual. She must be trying to challenge him! Hah - he was an expert eater. Ash gobbled down his food just as fast.

Chuckling at the two of them, Cilan was cutting up his food into perfect-sized pieces and taking his time as a connoisseur does.

Ash and Iris had both finished first and at this point he or Iris would usually start a conversation between the three of them. She looked up at her food at Cilan and opened her mouth, about to speak.

She closed it again a second later. _Guess she changed her mind, _Ash thought._  
_  
Oh well - he'd just have to do it today. He did have a lot to talk about! He was excited about his next gym battle and he wanted to discuss who it might be and what was the type of pokémon were in the gym.

Before he could though, Cilan glanced up as his food and looked across at Iris. Okay! Cilan would probably have something interesting to say (conversations related to pokémon were always interesting to the pokémon-master in training).

He didn't speak though, just stared at Iris for about a minute. His stare was the same one Ash recognised when Cilan wanted to figure out something.

_It must be about what happened just now_, Ash thought. _Iris was acting pretty weird earlier._

Iris then saw his gaze and turned red again. To Ash's surprise Cilan's face also coloured slightly and he looked away. He wondered if they both had caught a bug. Iris and Cilan both didn't seem like they were sick.

The girl looked at Cilan again while he was still turned away. She looked back down at her plate just as Cilan looked at her. It continued like this for a while, without any of them actually looking at each other at the same time.

...

…

…

Five minutes. Five _whole_minutes of the same thing. The silence was driving Ash crazy! He wanted to talk about pokémon but he knew Cilan and Iris both wanted to say something which seemed to be important. He had a gut feeling it had to do with the test Iris was doing earlier.

"Alright, if you guys have something to say to each other, just say it!" He burst out, making the other two jump.

Immediately Iris glared at him. "You're such a kid Ash! I can't 'just say it'!"

Ash huffed. "Why not?"

"It's not that simple," Iris said loudly.

"Explain it then!" Ash crossed his arms.

At this Iris looked like a timid Pikachu. She stayed silent.

"Fine," said Ash exasperated. "Cilan, could you tell me what's going on?"

Ash was sure Cilan would jump at the question but he hesitated before answering. "Well...it's kind of a secret recipe."

"A secret recipe?" He did not like being left out of a secret at all. "But she was doing a test in that magazine - how's that a secret? Is it bad to ask someone their horoscope?"

Cilan frowned. "It's not really about the horoscope; it's more of the test itself. The compatibility test."

Ash was growing frustrated now. "Okay, but what's a compatibility test?"

Silence - again. Then Cilan and Iris glanced at each other at the same time. They stayed like that for a while before they looked at Ash again.

"It's quite an unusual test," started Cilan. "It's-"

"A friendship test!" Iris shouted.

"What?" The boys said in unison.

Iris smiled nervously. "A compatibility test is to test how 'compatible' you are with a person as a friend. In the magazine you need to match someone's horoscopes with yours and it'll tell you how compatible you are. A fortune teller wrote the test and reads the stars to get the outcome." She gained confidence she continued speaking. "Sorry about running out of the room. I was kind of embarrassed to ask Cilan his horoscope, since he doesn't really believe in them. You know, with his whole science-connoisseur thing."

"Oh! So it's something to measure your friendship-power!" Ash laughed good-naturedly. "I thought there was something wrong. We were over thinking about it, weren't we Cilan?"

"I suppose so..." Ash thought that he saw Cilan having a disappointed expression but when he blinked it was gone. _Must have imagined it._

Ash pointed at himself cheerfully. "You could do a friendship test on me if you want." Er – Cilan wasn't glaring at him, was he? _Must be my imagination again. It's not like he has any reason to._

Iris shook her head vigorously. "It's okay! It was a childish test anyway. It could be totally wrong." It _was_his imagination after all – the feeling of a strong gaze disappeared suddenly.

The rest of the meal went by with Ash finally being able to talk about his upcoming battle, with Iris calling him a kid a few times at the pokémon he wanted to use and Cilan chipping in with useful information and strategies Ash could use.

"Pika!" Ash went over and kneeled on one knee to where Pikachu and Axew were. His best friend was done eating now, same as the small dragon pokémon. Pikachu climbed back onto his shoulderand smiled at him.

He then heard Cilan say in a low voice to Iris. "You know, I'm pretty sure the compatibility test in that issue wasn't a friendship test - I read it yesterday."

"O-oh really? I'm sure it was."

"Hmm."

They saw that he was watching their exchange and Cilan stood up. "Actually - you're right; I think I was reading last week's issue."

"See!" Iris stood up as well. "I'll help clear up."

Cilan smiled at her. "I'd appreciate that."

Ash was about to offer help as well when Cilan told him to go ahead first. Pikachu yawned at that exact moment so he figured he would go back to their room. Just as he was leaving he heard Cilan say.

"My horoscope's Pisces by the way."

Walking along the corridor to their room Ash wondered if being a Pisces was good in that friendship-power test with Iris. Whatever it was Ash was sure that Iris and Cilan were very 'compatible' even without a test.

xxxxx

Iris squealed. "Yes! 100% compatibility. 'The arrow of love will surely pierce both your hearts."

xxxxx

"What a wonderful taste. This issue definitely has a romantic take on it." Cilan held the magazine, staring at it with a soft smile.

xxxxx

"Hey Pikachu! Do you think they have a pokémon friendship test in the magazine?"

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**A/N: No Ash...they probably don't, although you could probably find some online. Maybe we should make up a Wishfulshipping test 8D Anyway, hope they weren't (too) OOC. I'll try better for the next chapter!**

**P.S - I don't think Ash is stupid - just dense 8D -glomps him-**

**- Dina (Amulet Misty/SilentStormfall)**


	2. Camera Shy

**A/N: Tadaa! Whew, it's been a long time but here's another instalment of Stupid Cupid :'D I actually thought up this fic after finishing my 'Wishfulshipping- Camera Shy' AMV. Check it out on youtube if you havne't already 8D -shameless self advertising-**

**Be warned, this chapter is very cracky.**

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**Stupid Cupid**

Camera Shy

"N-no way. I refuse to do that." Iris shook her head vigorously at the director's instruction. "I mean, this costume is one thing but that..."

Personally, Ash didn't know what all the fuss was about. All Iris was doing was wearing a pink and black gothita-styled dress and standing in front of a set.

Ash was bored again. He was sitting on a chair placed next to the director and the camera. Why was he next to the director?

Well, for the upcoming episode which had a musical, the company had decided to make an advertisement starring Cilan and Iris. That was just not right. Ash was the hero of the show! He was going to be a Pokemon Master. Not that he really knew what being a 'Pokemon Master' meant exactly, but he would be one eventually.

He absent-mindedly stroked the sleeping pikachu on his lap.

Still, orders were orders and he sat back while watching Cilan try to reassure Iris that it would be fine. Cilan was wearing a white magician's suit. Ash was reminded of Eugene from the Jirachi Movie. Boy, did he miss Jirachi. He wondered if a different Jirachi might appear in the anime again. He'd have to ask the director at some point if Jirachis were in the Unova region.

He turned his attention back to Iris and Cilan's conversation.

"This is just so embarrassing," said Iris, crossing her arms.

Cilan smiled at her while placing a soothing hand on her shoulder. "I don't think it'll be too bad."

"If you say so." Sighing, Iris walked into position, her heels clicking against the floorboards. Cilan took his place next to her while the director, a short man with brown curly hair, sat back on his seat, flashing Ash a thumbs up.

Picking up his cone, he shouted, "Alright, we're only taking still-shots here but you two need to keep your poses, alright?"

"Yes," Iris called back. "We're two dancers posing alongside the pokemon."

"Correct. Ready? Set? Action!"

The clipboard snapped and the photographer started clicking away on his camera. It was only then did Ash notice him. "Huh? Trip?"

It was indeed Trip, Ash's rival of this season. "Quiet. I'm working." He looked pretty serious at the moment and Ash decided not to say anything else.

Meanwhile, Iris was twirling and hopping and just performing random dance moves that came to her head. She wasn't much of a dancer. She glanced over to Cilan - he was actually enjoying this! He was enthusiastically throwing his hat in the air and after some fancy footwork, catching it with one hand again before placing it back on his head.

Ash was impressed by that. As a person always wearing a hat, he could tell when someone was skilled.

"Stop. Just - stop." Surprisingly it wasn't the director. It was Trip.

Both Cilan and Iris halted their moments and looked at the boy.

"Tch. How do you expect me to get good shots of you two when you're so far apart?" His eyes were narrowed in annoyance. Ash had never seen him so sour, even after a battle.

Iris and Cilan exchanged a puzzled look. Trip sighed frustrated and then walked onto the set, camera hanging loosely on his neck. He stood in front of the gap between the two main characters. "Take one step closer."

They obliged.

"I said _closer_."

They took a few more steps. Now they were just an arms-length away from each other.

He crossed his arms because something was still missing. "I've got it. Cilan, hold Iris tango dip style."

A few seconds of silence passed.

Iris's face turned red and she waved both arms in front of her. "Trip! Don't make Cilan do something weird."

"Weird? There's nothing weird about it. It's an advert for a pokemon musical with dancers. Tango is perfectly acceptable. Go with it." Trip looked unfazed by the Iris's continuous refusals.

Cilan turned to the director. "Sir, I think this taste is a bit...much."

The director stroked his chin. "Listen to Trip. He's the photographer."

"But sir - I really think-"

"Do as he says or I'll cut your screen-time." And that, folks, did it.

With Trip now back in his original position, Cilan and Iris stood for a while staring at each other.

Then, slowly, Cilan took Iris's left hand, wrapping his right one around her back to support her, and brought her small figure closer to him.

"Closer!" yelled Trip.

Iris's left hand placed itself behind Cilan's neck. She was shaking slightly, still extremely red in the face.

"Good, now, look into each other's eyes. We want to make this look real!"

Ash wondered if Iris was okay. She really did look awfully red, as she stared into Cilan's eyes. He didn't get what she was so worried about, the two were just taking a picture of them dancing after all.

_So...close._Iris's head was spinning.

"This has a kind of dangerous flavour," Cilan whispered to her, although he still kept his smiling face on.

"Y-yeah, if you let go, I might just fall." _Hahaha, because that's what he means by dangerous, right? _She was being too nervous._  
_  
"Mmm. True."

"Hmph. I still can't get a good shot. Move just a bit closer."

_Gah, stupid Trip, _Iris thought. Cilan pulled Iris in until she was basically pressed against him. _I can't breathe. _And what really scared Iris was that maybe, just _maybe_, she kind of liked this position.

For some reason Ash had the urge to cover his eyes with his hands to save them from embarrassment, though he didn't really understand why. The director coughed. "I don't think this is what we're looking for in the advert, Trip."

Trip stopped his clicking. "Hmm?"

"Too much contact. Might give some people the…wrong idea. There are many otakus out there."

Ah otakus. Ash had always had mail from them but someone was in charge of clearing away the 'inappropriate' ones, whatever that meant. Brock was now in charge of that, since he stopped being in the series. Maybe that's why he's been getting more letters from girls…

"You two!" He shouted. "Hold hands, and just improvise."

Cilan let go of Iris immediately, and they both sighed with relief. Adjusting his bow, he saw Axew get into the shot with Gothimu who was posing in front of him.

Iris turned and stuck out her left hand, which Cilan took with his own, lifting his hat off his head. "It's Photo Time!"

Trip shrugged, but took the photos anyway. After a while he stopped, let go of his camera and smiled. "I've got the perfect shot."

"Really? Let me see!" Ash's shout woke Pikachu up, and his best friend scurried off somewhere else to get some peaceful sleep.

Trip walked over to Ash, ready to show off his newly taken picture. "Woah! That's awesome."

His rival smirked. "It's only the basics."

Cilan and Iris got out of their positions and also checked the photo out. Iris's eyes widened. "We don't look so bad."

"It has a wonderful flavour," Cilan agreed.

"Well it's the best I could do, for my client." Trip shrugged. "I had to ask the director to let me help photograph the advert."

"Your client?" said the trio.

"Yes, I get requests on my online website to get photos." Although he didn't say it, his smug smile told them that it was doing well.

"My client requested that Cilan and Iris to do the advertisement specifically." Cilan and Iris exchanged bewildered looks, wondering who wanted them to star in a picture together.

"Who was your client?" Ash demanded. Who exactly was taking away his spotlight?

"All I know was their username. 'WishfulshippingFTW' I think it was."

"Oh!" Ash slapped his forehead. "A _shipper_. That makes a lot of sense."

"What's a shipper?" asked Cilan, Iris and Trip in unison.

"Hehe." Finally, he knew something they didn't. "Go ask Brock."

"You could just tell us," Trip pointed out.

"It's a really basic thing but it takes a while to explain. I've got to go find Pikachu." With the feeling of superiority of knowledge flowing through him, Ash turned away from his fellow cast members and went off to search for his pal. "Have fun!"

xxxxx

Iris, Cilan and Trip sat down in front of the giant screen that Brock had used to project everything they needed to know about shippings.

"I don't even know what to say." Cilan said, in awe.

Iris was just hiding her face in her hands. "This is so embarrassing."

Brock smirked from beside the screen. "It's a lot to take in, but you'll get used to it. Wishfulshipping is pretty cute name for you two by the way."

The connoisseur and the dragon master in-training looked at each other, before both shouting that they had something to do and ran out the room and headed in opposite directions.

"Ah, youth," Brock said, smiling after them. He then noticed that Trip was still there and still staring at the screen.

"You okay buddy?"

Trip's face had gone pale. "K-kodakshipping. Don't tell me that's…"

"Oh shoot, they left before I finished. I'll catch them later." Brock's smirk returned. "And yes, that's what you think it is."

"I think I'll pass this lesson," Trip said shakily, probably thinking he'd been scarred for life.

"No can do," his elder said. "How about I make you a deal? We go through the girls' version of this first and then I'll just briefly go over it."

That grabbed Trip's attention. "The girls' version?"

Brock's smile turned Cheshire-like. "You heard me." He switched the screen to the next slide. "Now this is SourGrapesShipping. Still got your attention?"

Burgundy. Georgia. Shipping. "Basically…yes."

* * *

**A/N: What is this fourth wall you speak of? I apologise for the ending. I couldn't help myself, it's just too amusing to imagine Trip being in that situation. Trip was our cupid of the day. Ash will be our main cupid but I'll sometimes have other characters come in for the job :3 Thanks for reading! Review...for a cookie.**


	3. Don't Shoot the Messenger

**Stupid Cupid**

Don't Shoot the Messenger

They were acting strange. 'They' being Cilan and Iris and 'strange' being their absolute resolves to avoid each other.

Ash had suggested that they spend the day by the lake today. He wanted to get in some training before the league started, and he could train both Oshawott and Palpitoad in the water whilst the others could train on land.

Cilan and Iris had been delighted with his decision. While he did want to get to the League as fast as possible, it was some time before it started and he wasn't sure he was ready yet. After Trip's Serperior had crushed him in the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup, he needed to rethink his strategy. Or just think of one, since he didn't have one yet.

His two friends went off to pick some berries by the woods on the other side of the lake, to prepare for the dessert Cilan would make after dinner (Ash had been really excited about the dessert). Though later, once he had already gone through a tough training course that left every single one of his pokemon tired out, Cilan and Iris returned, empty-handed.

Alright, he had been pretty annoyed that they were gone for so long and couldn't get the berries for dessert, but there was another thing that made him question their prolonged absence.

Both their clothes and hair looked ruffled with hints of dirt and scratches. And Ash was certain that was a cut there on Cilan's face.

"Guys? What happened?"

They had refused to look at either him or each other. Ash repeated his question, wondering why the atmosphere between them felt so tense.

Cilan let out a long breathe of air and shook his head. "It was nothing."

"It was not nothing!" Iris had snapped, shooting a glare at Cilan.

Without another word, Iris ran to the right side of the camp, climbing up a tree. Cilan huffed and had said something along the lines of "do what you like", and headed to the opposite end of their camp.

And that brought Ash to where he was now - sitting at the dinner table with only Cilan, who seemed to not care that Iris wasn't coming down for dinner.

_Something's definitely up_, he thought. _Cilan always makes sure we eat all our three meals._

"Cilan, what happened to you and Iris?" Ash asked, hoping to get a helpful answer from his usually helpful friend.

"It's got nothing to do with you," the teen replied sharply.

_Woah. Woah. _Woah_. Cilan had _never_ been so directly annoyed with Ash before._ This was more serious then he thought.

Seeing the shock on Ash's face, Cilan sighed. "Sorry Ash. It's not fair of me to take things out on you."

"It's cool," Ash said. "But, uh, mind tellin' me what 'things' are? You and Iris are acting really weird."

"Something...happened in the woods earlier," Cilan admitted.

Ash waited for Cilan to continue. Only the connoisseur started eating his dinner.

"That's it!? Of course I know something happened. I mean I want to know what exactly happened." Even Ash wasn't _that_ oblivious.

Cilan muttered something incoherent, and then, "- and Iris got mad at me and we shouted at each other. Anyway, could you tell Iris to come down for dinner?" He seemed to have changed his mind about whether he wanted Iris with them or not.

Ash wanted to protest but Cilan's eyes pleaded with him. Well, Cilan was his friend and never asked too much of Ash, so this one favour wasn't a big deal.

The young trainer made his way to the tree he had seen Iris climb up. He cupped his hands on both sides of his mouth and started shouting. "Iris! Cilan wants you to get down here and eat!"

There was no reply.

"Iris, I know you're up there."

Still no reply.

"That's it! I'm coming up to get you." Ash grabbed hold around the tree and clung to it with his legs. Putting one hand in front of the other while making stiff movements with his legs, he tried not to fall, because this tree was really slippery for some reason.

He fell back down, despite all that.

"Pika. Pikapi chu." Ash looked down to see his best friend tugging at his pants.

"Pikachu! Ya finished eating? I'm looking for Iris." He looked at his pokemon expectantly, waiting for it to take its usual spot on his shoulder.

Pikachu only tugged at his pants more urgently and pointed to his left. "Pikapi, pi pika pikachu pi."

"Huh? Wrong tree?" His eyes snapped to the tree on his left and sure enough, after some rustling, Iris came into view, mouth covered by her right hand.

"Yep, you were barking up the wrong tree there," said Iris, smiling with amusement. Pikachu was smiling too, and clambered onto its trainer's shoulder. "Literally."

"I wasn't barking." He knew that wasn't really the point, but still. "Anyway, hurry up and come down. Cilan wants you to have dinner!"

Her expression turned sour. "Well Cilan can mind his own business. Although that's going to be hard for him since he's such a pain and just loves putting his nose where it doesn't belong." She paused. "Go tell him that."

"Isn't that a bit harsh-?"

"Tell him."

Under her glare, Ash scampered off back to the campsite. Cilan looked happy to hear Ash returning but frowned when he saw he didn't have Iris with him.

"Where's Iris?"

"Er...she said," Ash was going to regret this, "to mind your own business and to stop putting your nose where it doesn't belong."

Cilan's eyes grew wide.

"Oh, um, and she called you a pain."

Cilan raised the fork he was holding.

_Stab._

Pikachu let out a surprised 'pika!' and its cheeks started sparking.

Ash gulped, staring at the fork that was now implanted in the table, _just_ about missing his hand.

"Tell her it _was_ my business and she's being such a kid for being so stubborn."

"Why don't you go-"

"I'm not talking to her."

Ash sighed and ran back to Iris.

"Cilan says that it _was _his business and that you're being a kid."

Iris looked highly offended. "Me. I'm a kid."

She threw an apple ferociously down at Ash who only just managed to dodge. Where the heck did she get that anyway? There were no freakin apple trees around.

"Tell Cilan that I was completely capable of handling it myself and I didn't need ask for his help." Again she gave Ash another piercing look. "And do what I just did."

"What do you mean by-?"

"Just go."

Man, he was getting sick of being cut off.

"I see Iris still isn't complying," Cilan observed as he came back again.

"Yeah, but she said...well...er, I'm really sorry Cilan."

Cilan began to smile, mistakenly thinking that the apology was coming from Iris...only to get hit in the face with an apple.

He almost fell back from shock (no, he wouldn't be pushed back by an apple...although it did look like he was in pain).

"Ash! What was that for?"

Ash said in a rush of words, "Iris told me to do it. She said she could handle things by herself. No clue what 'things' she was talking about so it'd be great if one of you told me what the heck is going on."

And of course Cilan only paid attention to the 'Iris told me to do it' part.

"Alright, I've had enough of this taste." Cilan stood up suddenly and walked past Ash.

Finally, they were going to sort themselves out-

"Ash, come with me."

He should have known.

Iris, who heard both of them coming, glared down at them. "Ash, tell Cilan to go away."

"What? He's right there."

"Ash." She sent down an icy glare.

"Cilan, go away."

Cilan crossed his arms. "Tell Iris no."

"Not you too -"

"Ash!"

"Iris, Cilan says no," Ash said, giving up on arguing against the two.

"Tell him if he doesn't leave me alone I'm going to sleep up here."

"Cilan, if you don't go, Iris is going to-"

"Tell Iris that it's going to be freezing cold. And even colder since she hasn't had dinner."

"Iris, it's going to be really-"

"Tell him that I don't care about the cold."

"Iris doesn't-"

"Tell her that's a lie and we all know it.

"It's a li-"

"Tell Cilan that I don't care."

"Tell Iris, that_ I_ care."

And then it got quiet. Ash looked between the two. They both seemed to be considering something.

But Cilan was right, and Iris was stubborn. Addressing Cilan, she said, "I'm still staying up here."

Huh, well at least Ash didn't need to be their messenger anymore.

"Iris," Cilan called out to her, angry. "Stop being so difficult and have your dinner."

The girl in question stuck out her tongue. "Make me."

"Fine." Before Ash could stop him, Cilan attempted to climb the tree Iris was perched on.

He must have been really determined because he actually made it to the Iris's level. She had scooted further out on the branch and further than Cilan.

Ash heard the branch creak as Cilan moved to sit on it...

"Stop it Cilan, why do you care so much if I have dinner or not? It's just food."

"Just food? Oh _no. _Food is the most essential thing in the world. It is where life springs from and the different flavours and texture come together in a beautiful marriage -" Cilan stopped when he realised Iris had set him on one of his tangents on purpose.

It had put an amused smile on her face - better than the glares she had been shooting.

"See, it's better when you're smiling."

_Crack._

The branch couldn't take both of their weights. Cilan sprung forward towards Iris, putting his arms around her and holding her close, turning so that it was his back that was facing the ground.

At the same time, with the reflex of getting accustomed to situations like this, Ash reached for his pokeball and flung it in their direction."Snivy! Use vine whip to catch Cilan and Iris."

Snivy's twin vines shot out at them, wrapping around them before they hit the ground and pulling them out of the branch's way.

The broken branch crashed with a loud thud.

The pokemon carefully let them down carefully, withdrawing its vines.

"Thanks, Snivy," said Ash. "Are you guys okay?"

"We're okay," Cilan replied, though he sounded out of breath. "Thanks Ash."

He seemed to realise that he was holding onto Iris rather tightly so he quickly let go. "Sorry Iris."

The girl stayed silent, her head still lying on Cilan's chest. "Iris?"

She slowly raised herself up, though she was still sitting on Cilan. "Idiot."Both boys were startled to see hints of tears forming at her eyes. "_Idiot_."

"Iris?" Cilan repeated, frowning at her.

"I told you already. I can take care of myself. You didn't need to do that. What if you got hurt again?" She reached out to touch the right side of his face, the one where he had been cut. "You shouldn't do things for me if you're going to get hurt."

Cilan closed his eyes. "So that's what it was. You were feeling guilty that the Beedrill had got me."

"Yes...If I was more careful, I wouldn't have bumped into all the Kakuna and made them mad. It was completely my fault that they came after me." Iris's voice turned quiet. "And then I was stupid and just stood there."

"You were in shock, Iris. It happens."

"But I'm used to wild pokemon. I shouldn't have froze. And then you ran in front of me. Sure, you already sent Pansage on them but one still cut you. You could have stayed back..."

Iris felt Cilan's hand close around hers, holding it against his cheek. "It doesn't hurt. It's just a small cut. So it's fine right?" He continued before Iris could protest, "Whether it's something big like saving you, or just getting you to eat, I care about you Iris. We share the same tastes - we didn't want to see each other get hurt. You should understand then, why I did that. If the situation had been reversed, wouldn't you have done the same for me?"

Iris stared at him for a moment, at his sincere smile. Then she found herself nod and smile back. "I would."

Ash hadn't said anything during the exchange. He could sense that anything he said would have disturbed the atmosphere.

_Growl._

Whoops. That was him. His stomach didn't know that it just killed the mood, only that it wanted food.

The two looked at him as he smiled sheepishly. "So...I'm guessing we can all finish dinner now, right?"

Cilan looked up at Iris who giggled. "Yes, I'll come to dinner."

With a cheer, Ash sprinted back to the campsite, desperate for food, leaving the two alone and even forgetting to return Snivy to its pokeball.

"Iris," said Cilan.

"Yeah?"

"Could you perhaps...get off me?"

"Oh! Right!" Face red from embarrassment, she stood up and moved a little away from Cilan.

He stood up too, dusting himself off.

"Erm...oh, that's right!" Still flustered, she turned to Snivy. "Thanks for saving us two." She grinned. "Although, now that I think about it, only Cilan really needed saving. I can land on my feet whenever I fall out of trees."

Cilan adjusted his bow tie."Didn't we just agree that we could care about each other's safety?"

"I know, I know." She returned a smile, just as gentle as the one he was giving her.

Then, Snivy called out, catching their attention.

It had its vines out and they formed the shape of a heart. It was also smirking and looking straight at them.

It didn't need to be able to speak for the message to be heard.

Iris's blush increased tenfold and Cilan formed one of his own.

They shouted at the same time.

"It's not like that!"

_xxxxx_

"_Teehee, I've got loads of berries for tonight!" Iris announced, climbing down the tree with arms full of berries. Cilan didn't have as many in comparison. "I do wonder what that thing I knocked into earlier was…"_

_All of a sudden a whole swarm of flying pokémon, yellow and black in colour with lances at the end of stick-thin arms emerged from trees all around. Iris dropped her berries. "W-what are they?"_

_Cilan, who had been standing a few metres away, looked at them thoughtfully. "I think they're called beedrill. They're the evolved for of kakuna, which kind of look like yellow, spikeless Ferroseeds."_

"_Oh no! I think that's what I knocked into earlier." Their buzzing grew louder and more aggressive._

_Without warning, they charged towards Iris, who stared at them, wide-eyed and unmoving._

"_Iris!"_

_Before Iris knew what was happening, Cilan was in front of her, taking their attack. He let out his Pansage. "My Vintage! Use bulletseed!_

_Within minutes, the beedrill realised that even combined, their opponent was too strong, and retreated. "That was a surprising flavour…"_

_He looked at Iris was gaping at him. "Y-you're bleeding."_

_Cilan realised that she was right, and his cheek was, indeed, slightly cut. He pulled out a handkerchief that every gentleman should obviously carry and wiped it without much fuss._

"_Why did you do that?" Iris suddenly cried, startling him. "I didn't need your help."_

_He raised an eyebrow as he pocketed his handkerchief and called back Pansage to its pokeball. "Come now, you were about to get hit by them."_

"_I can take of myself," she said insistently. _

"_Yes, but even you need help sometimes. They would have scratched you, not me if I hadn't stepped me."_

"_That's exactly why you should've stayed out of it!"_

"_I'm not getting what you mean," he said, starting to get annoyed. "You're not invincible, Iris."_

"_I mean that I don't want your help."_

"_I didn't ask you what you wanted."_

"_Well I'm telling you what I want and it's to stay out of things that don't concern you."_

"_I'll do what pleases me."_

"_Fine. Let's just get back."_

_They walked back to the camp-site, both bristling, and not completely sure why they were arguing._

* * *

__**A/N: Tadaa! Poor Ash. Getting stuck in all these Wishfulshipping situations. Snivy was Ash's assistant-cupid today, of course. And I guess we have to credit the beedrill who allowed for the situation -salutes-. I actually had this written out months ago, but got too lazy to edit it. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this. Leave a review and you get a virtual hug from me :'D Thanks for reading!**


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